Hi i recently finished poe1 and want to start a deadfire run with same class. I tried to search for viable single class goldpact paladin builds but found mostly multiclass builds and mostly for rtwp. I prefer any 2H weapon or 1H weapon with no shield and no double wield. Looking for builds for TB improving action economy or utilizing goldpact ability of bonus AR convert to high damage output or general synergy in equipment and abilities. It should be viable without a priest or chanter in party. Food and drug bonuses are ok if it can be acquired easily. Thanks

8 minutes ago, windysal said:

Hi i recently finished poe1 and want to start a deadfire run with same class. I tried to search for viable single class goldpact paladin builds but found mostly multiclass builds and mostly for rtwp. I prefer any 2H weapon or 1H weapon with no shield and no double wield. Looking for builds for TB improving action economy or utilizing goldpact ability of bonus AR convert to high damage output or general synergy in equipment and abilities. It should be viable without a priest or chanter in party. Food and drug bonuses are ok if it can be acquired easily. Thanks

Forgot to mention the difficulty is potd and upscaled etc.

Goldpact works great single-class in TB, you just need to lean into survivability → burst damage.

For a simple, priest-independent setup:

• Weapon style: 2H (greatsword / estoc) is ideal for higher PEN and fewer recovery concerns in TB.
• Core abilities: Flames of Devotion, Sworn Enemy, Inspired Defenses, Eternal Devotion, Brand Enemy, Stoic Steel.
• Action economy: Prioritize FoD upgrades + accuracy buffs; TB favors big decisive hits over sustained DPS.
• Goldpact synergy: Stack AR and defenses so Gilded Enmity / Stoic Steel keep you stable while FoD delivers spikes.
• Stats focus: MIG + PER first, then RES/CON. DEX is less critical in TB.
• Easy consumables: Captain’s Banquet / Hot Razor Skewers are excellent and accessible.

Single-class paladin is very viable — durable, accurate, and great at deleting priority targets.

The only tips that I can give:

If going SC Paladin you want at least one Chanter in the party who can summon very weak summons frequently. Optimal would be Beckoner with Ancient Brittle Bones+ Many Lives Pass By or a Troubadour with Brisk Recitation, Ancient Brittle Bones + Many Lives Pass By. But any Chanter who can do either works. Also an Ancient with Summon Sporelings works well.

A Ranger with Animal Companion is also nice to have.

The reason is the Paladin's ability "Divine Retribution" at Power Level 9. It's a late game passive of course, but it's very powerful: for every ally that goes down you get +2 Zeal points. With the weak summons of Chanters that basically means your Paladin will have endless Zeal at his disposal. Since his Exhortations and other stuff are fast (but expensive which usually limits the usage) this is very impactful. You can also spam Flame's of Devotion endlessly.

With a Ranger's Animal Companion you can revive it "for free" unlimited times because you get 2 points when it goes down and it costs 2 points to revive it. If you use a Ghost Heart Ranger a downed animal companion just gets you 2 Zeal (and costs only 1 Bond to summon).

In addition the usage of the Essence Interrupter Bow in the party is great: with the upgraded enchantment "Soul Diplomacy" every time you crit an enemy, when that enemy dies an ally summon will pop up in its place (with long duration). If that summon dies you get +2 Zeal.

Also a Goldpact should use Sworn Rival. You will mark one enemy for +20% damage for 1 Zeal. You also get your +4 AR (against 7 hits). But if that enemy dies you get back the Zeal point, so basically it getting bonus damage and +4 AR for a time for free.

Because this is very cost efficient you can to it all the time and this get away with lighter armor (which increases DPS). However, since I don't play Turn Based mode, I cannot say whether this is impactful or not. As far as I can tell action and recovery speed are not that crucial in the TB mode of Deadfire.

Since Shared Flames is good but very short lived (and the AoE is kind of small) I usually prefer Eternal Devotion (both mutually exclusive upgrades of Flames of Devotion). However: as soon as you can spam Shared Flames mindlessly it becomes the superior upgrade for the party performance as a whole.

I don't know how good it is in TB mode, but in RTwP an ability which is severely underrated for a Paladin is Zealous Charge. It adds a lot of movement speed to the party which directly translates to higher dps for all melee party members. And since Goldpact's Gilded Enmity (+4 AR) doesn't stack with Exalted Endurance's +1 AR (which is also very good in general) so you might want to try Zealous Charge in TB mode, too (although I don't know how movement speed works there tbh).

Edited 2 hours ago2 hr by Boeroer